Fuel surcharges included in Shipit's shipping prices
Shipit makes our customers' everyday life easier regarding fuel surcharges and other additional fees by always presenting prices that include fuel surcharges and other special costs. Our shipping calculator provides you with up-to-date prices without hidden costs when sending packages worldwide.
Here you can find current fuel surcharges for different transport companies. Note that Shipit's shipping calculator already includes fuel surcharges in shipment prices, and we present prices that include fuel surcharges in our example price lists sent to customers:
What is a fuel surcharge
Transport companies often use a base price for shipments, which determines the shipping cost without fuel surcharge.
Fuel surcharge defines an additional cost for shipments, the variable portion of the shipping cost. Fuel surcharge is used so that transport companies can prepare for fluctuations in global fuel prices. Different standards are followed depending on the transport company regarding fuel surcharge. The most common standards from which fuel surcharge is determined or what affects prices are for example:
Fuel surcharge came into wider use in the early 2000s and has gradually become the norm.
Fuel Surcharges
There are different types of fuel surcharges, typically pure fuel surcharge or fuel surcharge and sulfur surcharge,
> Marpol https://www.imo.org/en/About/Conventions/Pages/International-Convention-for-the-Prevention-of-Pollution-from-Ships-(MARPOL).aspx
which is applied in international transport when part of the transport leg is handled by ship. In addition, transport companies' price lists may show e.g. increased fuel surcharge.
Fuel and Sulfur surcharge is calculated for transport -> charged price for transport (excluding fuel surcharge and additional services) + surcharge X %
Fuel surcharges vary in size
The size of the fuel surcharge is affected by the transport equipment used for transportation and from where to where the transport is delivered. In freight shipments, for example in pallet goods transport where fuel consumption is higher, the fuel surcharge is also higher. Differences between different modes of transport can range from percentages to tens of percentages. For example, domestic package transport fuel surcharges varied mostly around 13% in March 2022, and sea transport fuel surcharge could be as high as over 30% if not more.
The amount of fuel surcharge is also affected by how the transport company charges for fuel surcharge. For example, transport company X has already included the basic fuel surcharge in their shipping prices, which means that the fuel surcharge in transport company X's shipments is significantly lower than transport company Y.